Misunderstanding All You See
by ElainesThoughts
Summary: She had been called a know-it-all for so long that she believed it herself. She knew that he was arrogant and spiteful, that he was prejudiced and hateful. But then, he could have said the same about her, for all he knew. It had never occurred to either of them that they knew very little about the other. They were equally misunderstood. Dramione.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to JKR**

 _She was running through the corridor. She wasn't sure which corridor she was running through, the castle always seemed to take on a new form in the night. Everywhere she looked she could see shadows sketched into misshapen forms along the high walls. The branches outside seemed to only make grotesque shapes that one should never trust. Logically, she told herself, she had no reason to be afraid. Hogwarts was the safest place in all of the wizarding world at this point, and yet she couldn't shake the feeling of immediate danger. If she could only get back to her room she would be able to feel safe again._

 _She looked behind her and thought she saw movement. Panic striking her and a surge of adrenaline coursing through her veins she began to run as fast as she could. She had never been any good with anything that required physical strength, but she knew that now was not the time to second guess her instincts._

 _She risked taking another look behind her. Of course it was dark all around her with only the moonlight giving her sight, but there was no doubt that there was a fog quickly closing in on her. She couldn't understand how so much fog could've gotten into the castle, but she really couldn't think about that now. She was gasping for breath and she didn't know how much farther she could run without stopping. She reached a flight of stairs and cursed her own body for being out of shape. She began running up the stairs when she felt a cold and boney hand enclose around her shoulder. She let out a piercing scream and felt herself fall. She kept falling and found herself in complete darkness, as though even the moon was blacked out from the sky. She kept screaming, it was the only thing she could do, because for some reason she found herself unable to move.  
_

Hermione woke with a start. Her heart still pounding, she sat up and began to frantically look around her to light the candle on the nightstand. Now bathed in light, she began to finally calm down. Hermione threw the blankets off of her, she was hot and sweaty and still shaking but she could breathe freely now.

Hermione felt like a fool. At least once a week since the summer she had the same dream. She was always running down a dark corridor trying to get to her room but never actually making it. Then she remembered the hand. Never before had there been a hand that had wrapped around her shoulder. She remembered how cold it was and how it looked like it belonged to a corpse with all of the bones clearly visible.

She knew she was having these dreams because of the changing climate in the wizarding world. Everyone was unsure of their futures and scared and everyday Lord Voldemort was gaining more power. She shook her head, she didn't have time to dwell on these stupid dreams. Her life everyday was full of uncertainty, and she didn't need it to infiltrate her sleep as well. Other people, like her best friend, had bigger problems and if they could handle it then so could she.

The sun was slowly making its way into her window and she would be expected in the great hall in only a couple of hours. She could use this time to get ready and head down to the Heads' office before breakfast. Still annoyed, Hermione got up and headed toward her dresser to grab her usual skirt, blouse, and robes. She didn't spend much time in front of her mirror, she knew her hair was damnably unruly and she never wore makeup. There was no use dwelling on her appearance when there were more important things to do, like finish the prefect duty schedules.

Hermione finished getting ready, grabbed her book bag, and headed down toward the Heads' office. While walking down the same beaten path to the office she shared with the Head Boy, Hermione's mind began to wander. As pragmatic and level-headed as she tried to be, Hermione couldn't shake the dream from her thoughts. It was worrying to her that the dream was now progressing. She could still clearly envision the hand that had touched her. It was so cold and eerie that she couldn't help but be spooked by it.

Finally reaching the Heads' office, she realized she was dwelling again. "Pull yourself together, Hermione," she muttered to herself. Raising her head and clenching her teeth, Hermione opened the door and was greeted with the sight of Harry and Ron passed out on the rug before the fireplace with an empty firewhisky bottle with food and sweets littered around them.

Hermione was outraged, not only was this against the rules, but for the Head Boy to desecrate the Heads' Office in such a way was outrageous. Fuming, Hermione raised her wand and whispered, " _Aguamenti_." A burst of water was sent pouring onto Harry and Ron.

"ARGHHH!"

"BLOODY HELL!" sputtered Ron. Jumping up and whipping around, he spotted Hermione. "Have you lost your bloody mind?! What the hell did you do that for?!"

"I thought you might like to wake up. You'll miss breakfast if you don't get a move on," Hermione said through clenched teeth.

"You didn't have to send water pouring onto us," muttered Harry. He was wringing his clothes and wiping his glasses clean.

Ron, on the other hand, was still dripping water onto the rug and seething. "You have got a lot of nerve, Hermio—."

"No, it's you that has a lot of nerve! This is a shared office and you don't seem to have the remotest sense of courtesy towards me! Just because you are Head Boy, Ronald, does not give you the right to do whatever you want and break any rule you please!" Hermione shrilled. "And you," Hermione rounded on Harry, "I could take away your Quidditch Captain badge for this!"

Both Harry and Ron stared at Hermione.

"Well?" said Hermione.

"'Mione," Harry began, "you're right. Of course you're right. We were being gits."

Ron continued to stare with disdain at Hermione. Harry elbowed him in the ribs.

"Yeah…sorry," Ron muttered.

Both Harry and Ron looked like they were being scolded by Mrs. Weasley. Hermione just felt awful now. She didn't want her friends to think of her as some motherly shrew! "Right, well, I suppose I overreacted. I'm sorry," said Hermione. "But you really shouldn't go out of your way to break rules!" she quickly added in her own defense.

Harry offered her a friendly smile. "No, Hermione. It's okay. You didn't have to be _so_ harsh, but we were gits," said Harry. Ron was still remaining quiet if not begrudgingly. Hermione didn't expect any more than this from Ron.

"Well, you really should head up to the tower, we only have about an hour and half before class," said Hermione checking her wristwatch.

With that Harry and Ron started towards the door. As they left, Hermione could hear Ron before the door snapped shut, "Who does she think she is? I'm Head B—."

With an exasperated sigh, Hermione began to gather the mess Harry and Ron had left. She hated that she was left cleaning up after them like Mrs. Weasley would have, but she also didn't want to leave it all to the house elves to clean. After all the wrappings and the empty bottle were vanished, she finally went to pick up the prefect duty worksheet from her mail cubby. With her Head Girl cubby being right next to Ron's, she just couldn't help but take a glance into his as well. It was only the first week of October, yet Ron's cubby was stacked with parchment. Ron had worked on hardly any of his Head Boy duties and was beginning to constantly seek her for help. It should have been obvious to Ron why she was so easily agitated by him these days.

When Hermione had received her badge in the mail while at the Burrow, she was ecstatic even though she and everyone else knew she would be Head Girl this year. While everyone was gathering around her at Mrs. Weasley's kitchen table to congratulate her, Ron was still staring at his Hogwarts letter in a blank-eyed awe. It wasn't until Mrs. Weasley snapped at Ron for being rude did he timidly hold up his badge as well. The contrast between his reception and Hermione's would have been quite the laugh had not it been so shocking. Finally Mrs. Weasley broke the silence with her sobs of happiness. A third Head Boy in the family! As customary, Arthur and Molly bought Ron brand new robes which actually fit him. Shortly after, Ron took up the ego just short of Malfoy's. Molly may have been happy for her son, but everyone else was left in bewilderment. Of course, Hermione thought Head Boy would go to Ernie Macmillan if not Harry himself, but never would she have dreamt of Ron. There was a time when the thought of Ron and herself as Heads together would have filled her with happiness, but she was no longer naïve about her and Ron's relationship. They were certainly best friends and at one time she had even hoped for more, but she was positive it was only because of Harry that they remained such good friends. Now Ron was still copying her homework, shirking on his Head Boy responsibilities, and making quidditch is only priority. Well that and trying to look good for half-witted girls. Hermione knew she was growing resentful towards Ron, but it wasn't like he was helping his case.

With her head full of so many thoughts, Hermione finished writing out the new prefect duty schedule and realized she had better hurry down to breakfast herself. She made it through the corridors and down the stairs without any troubles before the peace was shattered. Hermione had not been paying attention and had run into the last person she ever wanted to run into in the Entrance Hall, Draco Malfoy.

"Watch it, Granger," Malfoy said in his arrogant drawl. "I know you're probably beginning to find yourself desperate for any attention, but you'll never come close to my type." There was a smirk plastered on his pointed face.

A fuming Hermione had to close her eyes before responding to the prat, but when she opened her eyes it was only to find other students passing into the Great Hall. Malfoy had slipped into the hall before she had had a chance to take him down a notch. Angrily, Hermione brushed aside a first-year and made her way to her seat opposite Harry and Ron. It was not yet nine in the morning, and Hermione couldn't believe how horrible her day was already.


	2. Chapter 2

Draco took his seat at the Slytherin table facing towards the other house tables. He couldn't help the smirk that was on his face, it was always satisfying to knock down the golden Head Girl a notch or two. He watched as she roughly passed a first-year aside and sat in front of dumb and dumber. He understood why the Weasel and Pothead were attracted towards each other, they gave Crabbe and Goyle a run for their money, but he would never understand why Granger was so hung up on them. He supposed she could never find any other friends with that hideous mop of hair and bossy tone. As he continued to watch her, he noticed that the golden trio seemed to be less happy with each other than usual. As a matter of fact, they seemed to be distantly cordial with one another. He was interrupted from his musings when Theodore Nott took the seat beside him.

Theo was tall and lanky with a great deal of curly brown hair on top of his head. Girls might have found him attractive had it not been for his piercing brown eyes behind his glasses and his overall off-putting aura. He seemed to know everything about everyone, but you never knew anything about him. Draco himself had never even really spoken to Theo until this year when they sat in the same cabin on the Hogwarts Express. Before then, they had only seen each other around Hogwarts and whenever his mother forced him to go to formal balls or parties with other pureblood families.

"You're staring at the Gryffindors again," said Theo. It wasn't a question.

"I'm not staring, I'm analyzing," Draco retorted. "They're like an experiment and it's up to me to dissect the unnatural qualities about them."

"Yes, unnatural…" Theo didn't seem to really care as he sat buttering his toast, or at least that was the impression that Draco got.

"I cannot believe that Dumbledore made that bumbling oaf the Head Boy. I've never seen a person that was so ugly, so poor, and such a fucking id—."

"Catch?" Blaise Zabini interrupted looking smug. He took the seat opposite of Draco and Theo and officially blocked the trio from view.

"No, you idiot," said Draco.

"It is interesting that he would be made Head Boy," mused Theo without looking up from his toast. Blaise and Draco simply looked at him. It wasn't often that Theo would express his opinions.

"Yes it is interesting…would you care to elaborate, Theodore?" asked Blaise. Blaise always referred to Theo by his full name because he believed that it added to Theo's ominous ambience.

"Sure Blaise," Theo said, finally looking up from his toast. "I can't imagine why Dumbledore would've chosen Weasley as Head Boy. I thought it might have been Ernie Macmillan or Terri Boot."

"You didn't think it would go to boy wonder?" asked Blaise. Theo was already back to his toast.

"No, Dumbledore wouldn't have done that," answered Theo. After looking up again at an expectant Blaise and Draco, he added, "Potter is busy planning the demise of the Dark Lord with Dumbledore every Monday evening."

Draco pondered this. It didn't matter how Theo knew this piece of information, Draco believed it. "Well even if it couldn't be Potter, is doesn't explain why it had to be Weaselbee."

"Are you jealous Draco? Do you think it should've been you?" mocked Blaise. At this Theo pinned Draco with his eyes and gave his full attention.

Draco gave Blaise a dark glare. "No, not me. Even if I wanted it, Dumbledore would never give it to me." Blaise simply nodded and began piling his plate with food and Theo just stared at Draco. Draco hated when Theo did this so he just looked away toward his barely touched plate. Last year he had been given a task by the Dark Lord after his father had been sent to Azkaban. Draco was given the Dark Mark and ordered to kill Dumbledore. After nearly killing himself with stress the entirety of sixth-year, Draco had finally been able to let Death Eaters into the castle. When Draco went up to the astronomy tower to murder Dumbledore, he found himself unable to kill him. He never wanted to be a murderer, and he certainly didn't want the fucking mark that marred his skin anymore. Dumbledore sent the order to take his mother to a safe house, but Lucius was killed by dementors on Voldemort's orders while still in Azkaban. Draco understood all of Lucius's faults now, but he was torn apart by the death of his father. His entire summer was spent cooped up in a safe house with his distraught mother. Narcissa loved Draco with all of her heart, of this Draco never doubted, but the death of her husband had left Narcissa a shell of a person. Lucius had put his family through more than enough fucked up shit, but Narcissa and Lucius had had a loving relationship, despite any outside appearances.

Draco sighed and began to eat his eggs. Ever since his Dark allegiance hit the fan, his housemates treated him as though he were a social pariah. They walked around acting as though the name Malfoy no longer called for any respect. Crabbe and Goyle had even stopped hanging around Draco, instead choosing to be the ring leaders for some fourth and fifth year thugs. The only Slytherins that still had anything to do with Draco were Theo, Blaise, Pansy, and the Greengrass sisters.

Theo didn't associate with the Dark Arts. Ever since his father had died while attempting to murder a half-blood family in London, Theo was the sole heir and owner of a Manor and a fair amount of galleons. Pansy was still hung up on Draco, while Daphne simply didn't care enough about the politics of good and evil. And as for Astoria, Daphne's fifth-year sister, she and Draco were technically still betrothed, despite her father's new hatred of the Malfoy family. Blaise's family, on the other hand, had nothing to do with the Dark Arts in the United Kingdom since he lived in Italy with his mother during the Holidays, unless you counted his various wealthy stepfathers before they mysteriously disappeared.

Draco looked up at Blaise. Blaise was busy stuffing his face. Any other person might have looked disgusting shoveling food into their face, but Blaise emanated so much carelessness and confidence that it simply didn't matter what he did. Blaise took after his mother's beauty. He was black and tall with high cheekbones and almond eyes. Girls always became flustered around him, and Blaise knew that he had this effect. In fact, Blaise was a bit of whore.

Draco was interrupted from his reverie by the scraping of benches as students began to make their way towards their classes. Draco along with Theo and Blaise began to make their way as well, however, Blaise soon jumped ahead to meet up with some sixth-year Ravenclaw girl that Draco had never seen before. This left Draco and Theo to head down to the dungeons by themselves for their shared potions class.

Ever since Slughorn had taken over the post as Potions Master, potions had become unbearable. Slughorn loved to fawn over Potter and that frizzy haired know-it-all. Just as Draco was thinking of how much he loathed potions, Potter and Co. walked past. They seemed to have gotten over whatever had disrupted their usual disgusting display of friendship and loyalty and whatever else made up a Gryffindor because they were now chatting happily together.

"Draco, how long do you suspect it'll take for Weasel there to get sacked as Head Boy?" Blaise asked loud enough for the three idiots to hear. Apparently the Ravenclaw girl wasn't so interesting. Draco smirked when he saw Weasley's back tense heard their conversation come to a halt. Theo rolled his eyes but continued to walk with Draco and Blaise.

"I don't know, Blaise. I suspect he'll collapse from too much brain activity before he's had a chance to get sacked," responded Draco.

Hermione turned around with her head held high. Draco smirked again. "Maybe, Malfoy, if he's sacked, they'll let you clean out his desk as a sign of trust. That'll help your reputation, don't you think?" scathed Hermione.

Malfoy scowled. "Yeah reputations are important aren't they Granger? How's your reputation with the male population? Or is your reputation nonexistent still?" Blaise sniggered as he watched on.

Hermione blushed, it was widely known that she had never had a boyfriend and no one had seen her with any male in a romantic fashion since Viktor Krum in fourth year.

"Shut your mouth, Malfoy," Potter finally spoke up. He had been clenching his fists next to Granger silently until now.

"Keep your knickers on, Potter. Granger and I are just chatting, aren't we?" Draco asked, still looking at Hermione.

"Shut your mouth or I'll shut it for you, Malfoy," Harry threatened. He was now clenching his jaw.

Hermione grabbed onto Harry's arm. "Harry let's go. It's just Malfoy, he's not worth it." Harry gave one last glare to Blaise and Draco and turned around and walked swiftly the rest of the way into the potions classroom. Hermione followed suit, but Ron blazed past the both of them, red in the face.

"Why must you two always bait them?" asked Theo once the Gryffindors were out of earshot.

"Because it's too easy, Theodore," responded Blaise.

Draco agreed, it was too easy. And sparring with Granger always kept him on his toes. Draco walked the rest of the way to potions with a smirk on his face.


	3. Chapter 3

Hermione watched as Ron blew past her and Harry and stormed into the potions classroom. Hermione looked to Harry only to find him exasperated as well. They had finally decided to just forget everything that had happened between them in the Heads' office that morning, only to have Malfoy spoil everything. Hermione wasn't surprised, Malfoy goaded Harry and Ron whenever he could, often using Hermione's personal life as the expense. She was, however, annoyed that Ron still let Malfoy and the other Slytherins get under his skin. Despite all the confidence he seemed to have developed as a result of being made Head Boy, Ron could never just ignore snide comments. Irritated, Hermione hitched her heavy book bag higher onto her shoulder and followed Harry into the classroom.

Hermione and Harry found Ron already sitting at a table taking out his potions supplies. He was still red in the face and was handling his potions equipment with hostility.

"Don't go breaking your vials on account of Malfoy," Harry said as he took the seat next to Ron. Ron grunted in response without looking in Harry's direction.

Hermione took the seat opposite of Harry and Ron and began to pull out her own equipment. She looked up at Ron hesitantly only to find that he was avoiding making eye contact with her as well, instead choosing to stare straight ahead at the blackboard where Slughorn was finishing up with today's instructions. Other students were slowing filling the remaining tables and she could see Malfoy and the other Slytherins take their usual table in the back.

"Ron," began Hermione. He made no sign of giving her attention. "Ron, you know Malfoy and his friends love to make snide comments whenever they can. Being so upset about it is only giving them what they want." She knew immediately she should have just held her tongue.

Ron finally looked at her, but there was a sneer where she would have preferred to see a friendly smile. "Yeah Hermione, I know how Malfoy and the all the other Slytherins are. I'm not a complete idiot despite what _you_ think."

"Ron…," Harry warned.

Hermione stared with her mouth slightly open. She didn't understand why Ron was so angry with her, she wasn't the enemy here! "You're upset with me? I was trying to defend you!" Hermione whispered violently. She didn't want the next table of Ravenclaws to hear them.

"Oh yeah, implying that I might get sacked is a real nice defense," Ron bit out sarcastically. "I know you don't think much of my capabilities, Hermione, but you could at least try to act like you believe in me in front of others."

Hermione couldn't believe what she was hearing. She looked to Harry, surely he must agree that Ron was seeing this completely wrong. Harry just looked at her apologetically. Of course, he wasn't going to help her with this. Before she had a chance to tell Ron what a prat he was being, Slughorn's voice announced the beginning of class. Ron went back to staring straight ahead. Hermione huffed, there was no use trying to talk any sense to Ron right now.

"Good morning, good morning!" boomed Slughorn. "Now today we are going to begin working on a new and challenging concoction!" Slughorn took a deep breath, his waistcoat stretching at the seams, and looked around the classroom. He was clearly trying to pervade a sense of intrigue. "We will begin working on a Calming Draught. The Calming Draught calms the nerves and anxieties of a person experiencing humiliation or trauma, however, should you make a mistake, the witch or wizard may experience hyperventilation and even possibly an attack of the heart."

Hermione dazed off during Slughorn's explanation of their instructions. She already knew how to brew this draught and she was in no mood to watch Slughorn's dramatic interpretations. Instead, Hermione began to look around the room. There were four work tables in the room but the students always sat in the same spots even though there were more than enough seats to choose from. There were the three Slytherins that sat in the back, three Ravenclaws that always sat in the front, and Ernie Macmillan from Hufflepuff that also sat with the Ravenclaws. Ernie used to sit with Harry, Ron, and herself during potions the year before, but Hermione supposed that being passed up for Head Boy had left him resentful towards the Gryffindors. She didn't blame him.

Hermione looked over at the Slytherin table. Theodore Nott was taking notes while Blaise Zabini staring blankly ahead, more than likely droning out Slughorn as well. Malfoy wasn't paying attention either, but Hermione was interested to see that he appeared to be reading a book. It was fairly small and thin, so it couldn't have been a school book. She knew he was smart, definitely not as intelligent as herself, but she couldn't deny his intellect. He was in almost all of her classes and received fairly good marks, but she had never seen him read before. She barely had time to read for leisure herself these days, what with Head duties and schoolwork. The cover was a solid black so there was no use trying to figure out the title. Hermione began to take a closer look at Malfoy. Hermione saw him almost every day, but she had never before really looked at him. Many girls found him attractive, despite his whole family in ruins thing, and to be honest Hermione could understand why. He was very pale and had white blonde hair, yet he no longer wore it slicked back like he had when she first met him. He had left behind the gel and opted for a more stylish haircut with fringe. Hermione wondered if it was actually as soft as it looked. Malfoy had fine facial features and a perfectly defined jawline that was no doubt a representation of his pureblood ancestry. Hermione's eyes drifted downward as she took in the rest of his appearance. She could tell that he was taller than Harry, but not as tall as Ron. Under his robes she could tell that he had the same lean build as Harry, which made sense considering they were both seekers. Yes, she could not deny that he was attractive.

Hermione was mentally telling herself off for thinking such horrendous thoughts when she looked up again only to realize that Malfoy was watching her stare at him. She froze while he met her straight in the eye. His cold grey eyes pinned her and she found that she couldn't look away, she was too embarrassed by being caught staring at him. A blush slowly crept into her cheeks. There was no arrogant smirk on his face, or even a sneer. Instead, Malfoy simply watched her, but she was saved from his gaze when everyone around her began moving.

Hermione, still flustered, looked back towards Harry and Ron only to find that they were both looking over the same potions book. Apparently they were partnering up for this lesson. Hermione looked around to find a partner, hoping Ernie might actually want to work with her, but her hopes were dashed when she found him already working with one of the Ravenclaws. She quickly looked to the other two Ravenclaws hoping against odds that one of them had partnered with one of the Slytherins. To her dismay, they too were already gathering their supplies to begin work with each other. Hermione did not look towards the Slytherin table, she didn't want to see if Malfoy was telling his friends about catching her stare at him. Hermione would just work by herself, she didn't even need help with this potion and she certainly didn't need help from the likes of Malfoy's gang.

Hermione flipped opened her potions book and quickly flipped to the Calming Draught instructions. She was pulling out her scales when she was startled by a loud thump that hit the table beside her. Theodore Nott was standing beside her with his book on the table.

"It looks like we're partners," he said, it wasn't a question.

Hermione just looked at him, she didn't know what to say. She didn't expect any of the Slytherins to work with her without complaint and she couldn't help but feel that he knew something about her as he looked on.

"Um, thanks, but I think I'll be fine working on my own," Hermione finally said. Nott didn't listen to her, instead he took the empty seat beside her and started to open his book to the Calming Draught as well. "Really, Nott we don't have to work together, you can go back to your little gang," Hermione said harshly. Hermione didn't know Nott really, but she didn't appreciate being ignored.

"You think I'm in a gang?" Nott asked, vaguely paying attention to her. He already had his equipment out and was now setting up his cauldron. "Slughorn wants us to work in pairs. We're going to need to get spine of lionfish from the cupboards, unless you have some."

Hermione just stared at him affronted, with her mouth open. She couldn't believe that he had the gall to simply act as if she weren't there, but still insist on working with her. It was simply illogical. Shouldn't he be acting repulsed by her tainted blood? She knew his father certainly wouldn't approve of his lackluster attitude, having helped put the Deatheater in Azkaban two years prior.

"I'm going to the store cupboard, then," said Nott. He didn't wait for Hermione to respond or even to see if she coming along. Perplexed, Hermione watched Nott search through the drawers. She didn't know what to make of Nott, and she didn't want to help him find ingredients considering his off-putting mood.

"Why are you working with him?" asked Harry.

Hermione swung around to find Harry and Ron staring at her, she had forgotten that they were sitting at the same table. "Well, it wasn't my choice," Hermione said coldly. With that, she got up and left to get the rest of the ingredients. Hermione didn't feel in the mood to talk to Harry and Ron right now, so she supposed helping gather ingredients was the lesser of the evils. At least Nott wasn't likely to let her down, she didn't expect anything from him.

Hermione gathered moonstone while Nott found the lionfish parts and together they headed back to their shared table. Hermione avoided making direct eye-contact with anyone, and instead chose to work quietly on powdering her moonstone. She could feel Harry and Ron watching her and she was willing to bet that Malfoy wasn't too pleased to have his friend working with her. The way Hermione saw it though, was that she really didn't have any reason not to work with Nott, despite his brusque manner. Her friends and his would just have to get over it.

Hermione and Nott spent the next forty minutes working in silence. Hermione found that Nott was actually very proficient in potions and their draught was turning out extraordinarily well. Their Calming Draught was the correct pale blue now with steam swirls rising lazily out of the cauldron. Within the next half hour the draught would turn cerulean, but until then, they simply had to wait. Hermione looked up to see where Harry and Ron were in their potion process only to find that it was a bright green color with drops jumping merrily out of the sides. Slughorn passed by Harry and Ron with a look of concern. When he lumbered past Hermione and Nott, however, his face lit up with delight.

"Very good, very good!" Slughorn said enthusiastically. "It looks like a Gryffindor and a Slytherin can work well together after all! Wouldn't you agree Miss Granger?"

Hermione blushed. "Yes, it looks that way," she said quietly, keeping her eyes directly on the potion. Slughorn chuckled and moved onto the next table to check their progress.

Hermione looked backed to Harry and Ron's draught. It really looked more like a jitter potion than a calming one. She wondered if she ought to bury the hatchet and just offer them some help.

"I also think we work well together, Hermione," Nott said quietly. Hermione looked up to see that he was looking intently at her. She didn't know how to respond to that, so she didn't. Hermione was thoroughly put off by his demeanor and the more she looked at him the more she didn't know what he expected from her.

Hermione finally pulled her gaze away to stir their draught. It was now a brilliant shade of cerulean blue, indicating that it was done brewing. She poured it into a vial and topped it off. She quickly grabbed her bag and muttered a goodbye to her table. Hermione quickly placed the vial on Slughorn's desk and turned around to leave. As she headed back, she avoided looking at Nott, but she couldn't miss the red and angry face of Ron.


End file.
